Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson says he is using the men’s 100m at Tuesday’s renewal of the Istvan Gyulai Memorial at the National Athletic Center in Budapest, Hungary to “get back in the flames and have fun”.

Thompson is one of 22 Jamaicans – including Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, Tajay Gayle and Hansle Parchment – down to compete at the a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event which will be held at the same venue as the 2023 World Athletics Championships.

Additionally, a number of the Jamaicans down to compete will be testing their levels of competitive fitness as well as trying to get qualifying marks for next month’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

Thompson, who will seek to defend the title he won last year, competed in a 100m race most recently in early July, says he was hoping to gauge his readiness and while saying he was “healthy”, said in a pre-meet press conference, “I am just going back into the flame, get some battle experience and have fun.”

Thompson, who set his personal best 9.75 seconds when he retained his Jamaican national title in late June, said he was unaware of the meeting record 9.84 seconds which was set in 2021 by South Africa’s Akani Simbine, who will also line up in the event Tuesday.

“I didn’t know that, I am not going out there to set (a record), I have not competed for a while, and as I said, going back into the flame, get some battle experience and have fun,” Thompson said.

World Indoor bronze medalist Ackeem Blake and former national champion Rohan Watson are the other Jamaicans in the men’s 100m where they hope to get the better of a trio of talented African sprinters –Simbine, Abdul-Rasheed Saminu of Ghana and Kayinsola Ajayi of Nigeria.

National women’s 100m champion Tina Clayton, Jackson and Fraser-Pryce will be joined by Krystal Sloley in the women’s 100m which will also see American Jacious Sears and Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith of the Ivory Coast.

Bryan Levell, Adrian Kerr and Kadrian Goldson are down to line up in the men’s 200m where they will face Zimbabwe’s Tapiwanashe Makarawu, Joseph Fahnbulleh of Liberia,

Eseosa Fostine Desalu of Italy and South Africa’s 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk.

In-form national women’s 200m champion Ashanti Moore will end her competitive schedule before she starts her preparation for the World Championships when she lines up against former Nigerian champion Favour Ofili, Minke Bisschops of the Netherlands and Daryll Neita of Great Britain.

Ackera Nugent and Amoi Brown are down to race in the 100m hurdles where it is expected they will get most competition from American Alia Armstrong and Nadine Visser of the Netherlands.

Parchment and Orlando Bennett will compete in a competitive 110m hurdles race where they will take on world leader Cordell Tinch of the USA and his compatriots Jamal Britt and Freddie Crittenden.

National champion Rusheen McDonald is yet to achieve the qualifying time in the men’s 400m and he will hope to get the 44.85 seconds standard while Sean Bailey, who has the mark, will hope to prove his fitness after failing to complete his last two races.

They will take on American Khaleb MacRae and South African Zakithi Nene who have both gone under 44.00 seconds this year as well as Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago and Nigeria’s Samuel Ogazi.

Shiann Salmon is the lone Jamaican in the women’s 400m hurdles and will face world leader Femke Bol of the Netherlands, Savannah Sutherland of Canada and American Jasmine Jones.

Gayle has not competed since mid-June but is eligible for a medical exemption to be named on the Jamaican team to the World Championships as he was ranked in the top three at the time of the national championships in late June.

Gayle and national champion Carey McLeod are set to contest the men’s long jump where they will go up against Greece’s world leader Miltiadis Tentoglou, Anvar Anvarov of Uzbekistan and Guyanese national record holder Emanuel Archibald.

Ackelia Smith will be in the women’s long jump where she will hope to challenge Americans Claire Bryant, Quanesha Burks and Monae Nichols as well as Milica Gardasevic of Serbia.

World Indoor bronze medallist Raymond Richards is down to take part in the men’s high jump where he faces Jan Stefela of Czechia, Elijah Kosiba of the USA, the veteran Donald Thomas of the Bahamas and Dmytro Nikitin of Ukraine.